Continued progress against an ambitious plan to both raise the bar on customer value and improve its own operating efficiency contributed to strong financial results during CHC's fiscal fourth-quarter 2012.

CHC's revenue for the period ended April 30 increased 18 percent to $453 million - the highest quarterly level for fiscal 2012. The company reported a net loss of $48 million for the period. EBITDAR, CHC's primary measure of operating profitability, was $111 million and EBITDA was $64 million, up 31 and 42 percent, respectively.

EBITDAR and EBITDA also grew faster than revenue for the full fiscal year. EBITDAR rose 25 percent and EBITDA increased 43 percent, compared with revenue that was up 17 percent, to $1.69 billion.

Fourth Quarter

Fiscal Year

(in millions)

FY12

FY11

Change(ii)

FY12

FY11

Change(ii)

Revenue

$453

$384

18%

$1,693

$1,445

17%

EBITDAR(i)

$111

$85

31%

$421

$335

25%

EBITDA(i)

$64

$45

42%

$244

$171

43%

(i)

See reconciliation to GAAP measures below.

(ii)

All growth rates in this release are year-over-year unless otherwise noted.

CHC President and Chief Executive Officer William Amelio said the strong fourth-quarter and full-year results only begin to illustrate what's possible as CHC streamlines and sharpens its execution in the midst of broad, fast-growing demand for flying and maintenance/repair/overhaul (MRO) services.

"Over the years, helicopter operators like CHC grew rapidly through acquisition, establishing big geographic footprints," said Mr. Amelio. "When you do that, driving consistent tools, systems and processes sometimes takes a back seat, resulting in inefficiency.

"What our people are doing now is dramatically changing CHC - finding the best practices and transformative technologies, creating new ones where we need to, and applying them around the world. We believe that's starting to set us apart from competitors."

Mr. Amelio said that transformation is expected to produce even higher levels of safety and value for customers, along with rapid and profitable growth for CHC.

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

Helicopter Services (flying):

Double-digit Q4 growth in flying-services revenue was led by Australasia, Americas, Western North Sea and Africa Euro Asia. EBITDAR for the quarter rose faster than revenue.

Two weeks ago CHC introduced Peter Bartolotta as chief operating officer and president of the Helicopter Services segment, succeeding John Graber. According to Mr. Amelio, Mr. Bartolotta brings with him strong operating expertise and a record of accomplishment in executive roles with leading companies such as Lenovo Corp., AlliedSignal/Honeywell and IBM.

The company is among Stage 2 bidders for a large-scale contract to provide search-and-rescue flight services to the United Kingdom government. Expectations are that the contract will be formally tendered in August and awarded in early 2013. In the fourth quarter, CHC received a four-year contract for certain interim U.K. SAR services.

CHC believes its new partner in Nigeria could obtain its air operating certificate, or AOC, in August. The business there has plans in place for an initial base in Snake Island and one to follow at Port Harcourt.

The company recently contracted to acquire several new twin-engine aircraft: 10 AgustaWestland 139s over the next several years, plus four Sikorsky 92s between now and the end of 2014, with options for additional volumes of both models. Those new aircraft are in addition to more than 20 Eurocopter EC225 heavy helicopters CHC is procuring over several years into 2016. The acquisitions are being driven by strong demand, and will increase the company's global fleet coverage and flexibility.

Heli-One (MRO):

Q4 revenue from MRO services was up more than one-third from last year. While that included a healthy increase for work on CHC aircraft, revenue from contracts with other operators - a major part of Heli-One's growth plan - jumped more than 80 percent in the quarter.

Heli-One-led initiatives to improve management of key components, including better collaboration with helicopter manufacturers, are contributing to rising availability of CHC aircraft.

Recent MRO contract wins included a 10-year agreement with the German Border Police, and for significant power-by-the-hour services with Pelita Air Service and Era Helicopters, covering a total of 12 aircraft deployed in Europe, Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and the South China Sea.

Last week Heli-One confirmed that it is opening a new operation in Rzeszow, Poland. The operation - which is in addition to existing facilities in Boundary Bay, British Columbia, Canada; Stavanger, Norway; and Fort Collins, Colo., in the United States - will extend the company's reach, putting it closer to existing and future customers across Europe.

CHC Helicopter is a leader in enabling customers to go further, do more and come home safely, including oil and gas companies, government search-and-rescue agencies and organizations requiring helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul services through the Heli-One division. The company is headquartered in Vancouver and operates more than 250 aircraft in about 30 countries around the world.

Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $2.6 million and $0.5 million, respectively

266,115

222,565

Income taxes recievable

20,747

11,457

Deferred income tax assets

8,542

7,596

Inventories

90,013

102,224

Prepaid expenses

21,183

17,853

Other assets

33,195

36,234

495,342

466,850

Property and equipment, net

1,026,860

1,133,499

Investments

24,226

23,548

Intangible assets

217,890

243,184

Goodwill

433,811

448,121

Restricted cash

25,994

13,219

Other assets

363,103

319,053

Deferred income tax assets

48,943

90,882

Assets held for sale

79,813

49,799

$2,715,982

$2,788,155

Liabilities and Shareholder's Equity

Current Liabilities:

Payables and accruals

$363,064

$364,848

Deferred revenue

23,737

24,183

Income taxes payable

43,581

29,132

Deferred income tax liabilities

11,729

13,035

Current facility secured by accounts receivable

45,566

21,571

Other liabilites

23,648

32,306

Current portion of long-term debt

17,701

106,642

529,026

591,717

Long-term debt

1,269,379

1,184,844

Liabilities held for sale

-

1,608

Deferred revenue

43,517

37,799

Other liabilities

191,521

188,654

Deferred income tax liabilities

20,072

36,170

Total liabilities

2,053,515

2,040,792

Redeemable non-controlling interests

1,675

3,087

Capital stock: Par value 1 Euro;

Authorized and issued:

1,228,377,770 and 1,184,793,767, respectively

1,607,101

1,547,101

Contributed surplus

55,318

14,583

Deficit

(940,031)

(832,609)

Accumulated other comprehensive earnings (loss)

(61,596)

15,201

$2,715,982

$2,788,155

Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

This earnings release includes non-GAAP financial measures, segment earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and aircraft lease rent and associated costs ("segment EBITDAR (adjusted)") referred to above as EBITDAR and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") that are not required by, or presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These non-GAAP measures are not performance measures under U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to net earnings (loss) or any other performance or liquidity measures derived in accordance with GAAP. In addition, these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. CHC has provided a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure. CHC has chosen to include segment EBITDAR (adjusted) as we consider this to be a significant indicator of our financial performance and use this measure to assist us in allocating available capital resources. We have also included EBITDA as this measure may be useful to our debt holders as it correlates with Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure. Adjusted EBITDA may provide useful information to investors as it is a measure used to calculate certain financial covenants related to our revolving credit facility and certain covenants in the indenture. CHC has provided a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure in the Annual Report on Form 10-K or below. We have also presented a detailed discussion of the reasons for including non-GAAP financial measures and the limitations associated with those measures as part of the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" contained in the Annual Report on Form 10-K. CHC encourages investors to review these reconciliations and the non-GAAP discussion in conjunction with our presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures.

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the "safe harbor" provision of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this presentation, regarding our strategy, future operations, projections, conclusions, forecasts and other statements are "forward-looking statements". While these forward-looking statements represent our best current judgment, the actual results could differ materially from the conclusions, forecasts or projections contained in the forward-looking information. Certain material factors or assumptions were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection in the forward-looking information contained herein. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the following: exchange rate fluctuations, trade credit risk, industry exposure, inflation, contract loss, inability to maintain government issued licenses, inability to obtain necessary aircraft or insurance, competition, political, economic and regulatory uncertainty, loss of key personnel, work stoppages due to labor disputes, and future material acquisitions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those indicated. The Company disclaims any intentions or obligations to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Please refer to our annual report on Form 10-K and other filings, in particular any discussion of risk factors or forward-looking statements, which are filed with the SEC and available at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov), for a full discussion of the risks and other factors that may impact any estimates or forward-looking statements made herein.